Stop 16: Governors’ Reception Room
NARRATOR:
This is one of the most beautiful and colorful spaces in the entire Capitol, with a history to match. Originally, it was meant to be an open space, part of a domed tower that never got built. Plans were made to remove the floor you’re standing on to create a 40-foot-high rotunda with murals, meaning you would have viewed the ceiling above you from much farther away. Again, here’s Capitol Architect Jim Jamieson:
JIM JAMIESON:
“They hire William de Leftwich Dodge, to paint murals. He paints these murals over a period of years from 1920 to 1925, even though they're actually not installed till 1929. That should be a buzz year – 1929 – because now we have the murals installed, but we have the Great Depression. There's not enough money to complete the project. So even though the ceiling and murals are in, they never remove the floor. So we're in the top half of what should be a two-story space, in an area where the floor should be removed, but it's not.”
NARRATOR:
The Dodge murals consist of 25 paintings on canvas that are attached to the plaster and four decorated areas that were painted directly onto the plaster—the bright blue sections with flags and stars. The murals depict the military history of New York and commemorate battles with the English, the Dutch, the French, the Iroquois, through to the Civil war and World War One. The artist used his daughter Sara as the model for the central figure: the spirit of New York and the Goddess of Harmony—a symbol of both war and peace. In her memoirs, Sara recalls her father saying:
ACTOR:
“The subject is the history of New York State, treated allegorically. In the central ceiling panel is a fourteen-foot female figure representing New York, with one hand on the state’s shield and the other on a sword. She is supposed to be symbolic of all industrial, educational, humanitarian, and militaristic activities. I don’t know how in thunder I’m going to put all that in one damn figure, but that will be the idea.”
NARRATOR:
If you look to the around the central figure, you will also see the representations of the five nations of the Iroquois. Additionally, naval battle scenes are painted in gray in the corners. They hang above images of Theodore Roosevelt, Revolutionary War General Richard Montgomery, Civil War General Kemble Warren, and the Unknown Soldier. Today this room serves as the Governor’s Reception Room for visitors and guests of the Executive Chamber. Beyond the glass doors is the working office of the Governor and his staff.